Furious Savior
by F-14 Tomcat Lover
Summary: A tank arrives to furiously defend a bridge in Normandy. It will be the savior of a group of men fighting for their lives and a few getting one man back to his mother.


_**Furious Savior**_

"In honor of those who have gone before and will go."

 **Outside of Ramelle, France**

 **June 1944**

"We need to hurry sergeant," the glider second lieutenant states to the commander of the rolling armor they were on. His twitchy nervousness had long been bothering the tankers. But they continue to keep their peace.

"Don't worry lieutenant, we're make it," Wardaddy Collier informs the lieutenant even as the driver began to expertly pick up a little speed to get to the town ahead.

"I should have stayed, I should have stayed," the lieutenant mutters in reply.

"If you had stayed sir, we wouldn't be entering town right now," Wardaddy can tell the glider pilot still felt guilty over running away to get help. It was the right choice, no matter how you look at it. A handful of men weren't going to hold off the entire 2nd SS Panzer 'Das Riech.'

"We're here," the lieutenant states as they enter the town, "Increase speed and get to the bridge sergeant," the loot takes hold of the Fifty and swings it around. He checks the ammo and charges the handle. "Just don't stick too far out," he smiles at the sergeant, "I want this tank to save my me, not join them in death."

Wardaddy nods as the lieutenant steadies himself with the Fifty.

Collier checks the Thirty he mounted in front of himself. The ammo is good and he pulls the charging handle. Now it was ready as the M4A3 Sherman maneuvered. Best news was that it was new prototype upgrade model. As such, it enjoyed a high velocity 76mm main gun and improved ammo storage.

They began to hear very distinct weapon fire as they approached.

"Infantry dismount!" the lieutenant shouted to the men on the tank and they began to drop off as the tank slowed and crew buttoned their hatches. "Unlimber the 57s! Bring them up by hand!"

The M3 Half-Tracks came to a stop and crew began jumping out to unlimber the guns and move them by hand.

Other troops hurriedly left the other vehicles. There are only so many, but they brought three 82mm Mortars and the men begin to set them up. Behind them, four M10 Wolverines begin to maneuver and follow in trail of the Sherman field evaluation vehicle.

If the upgrades work, then the Wolverine crews planned to trade out.

Everyone began to move up carefully, the Half Tracks following the bigger vehicles slowly as they broke up to go down the narrow streets. A lot of men gripping about how they never trained for this kind of combat. Well… They were going to the School of Hard Knocks right now.

As the Sherman edged forward carefully, the lieutenant tenses at hearing the exchange of fire. There are explosions. Small explosions, but something is wrong with the way they sound. It made no sense to them.

Then they started around a bend to see a disabled Tiger tank with American infantry swarming it and a Flak 20mm getting ready to kill the unsuspecting defenders.

"Flak 20! Right far, corner of building!" the lieutenant shouts to Collier who spots it as well and relays it to his gunner and loader.

" _HE in!"_

" _I've got it!"_

"Fire!" Collier shouts.

The 76mm gun recoils as it spits fire and kicks up dust. The automatic system ejects the spent casing as the gun reaches maximum recoil. The brass casing hits the turret basket with dull sounds.

XXXX

In a span of a few seconds, just as the Flak 20mm was about to fire, the HE round tore through the air and space. It arrived before the sound of a thunderous crack and the following sound of cloth tearing could be heard or registered. The shot is off by a foot and a half to the right and down by three inches.

The ruined Flak 20 and its torn apart crew are thrown off the rubble they had been on.

Then everyone registers the sound.

XXXX

"SHERMAN!" Pvt. James Francis Ryan shouts as the Sherman carefully edges around a corner.

German Panzergrenadiers appear around a corner of a building opposite the American Medium Tank, not expecting a Sherman tank and the bow gunner didn't hesitate. Neither did the lieutenant on the Browning Fifty.

"Relief!" Reiben shouts as he and an Airborne man raise their fists high in victory.

American infantry could be seen taking shelter in the buildings and among the rubble across the river and others were tossing themselves behind the sandbags on the bridge.

One man sticks himself out to fire a rifle grenade at some Germans probing through a side alley. The explosion dropped some rubble, effectively closing the small approach and sealing off the attempt infiltration.

More cannons shots resounded and a piece of a destroyed German Half-Track landed on the bridge before falling into the river below it.

 **XXXX**

" _Whoa!"_

" _Did I actually_ see _that?"_

" _Who do you think did_ that _?"_

"Knock it off, they have a second Tiger somewhere around here," Collier ordered as he laid down suppressing fire across the river.

He would buy that officer a beer when this was all over.

"Second Tank! Past Tiger, right!" the lieutenant suddenly shouted and Collier relayed what he wanted.

"Load Standard AP, followed by HE," Collier observed the approaching German AFV. "It's a Marder III TD! So we nee-" whatever else was going to be said was forever lost as the Marder III fired first.

The shot was high and wide. It was a rushed shot. It struck the building above and behind the Sherman.

" _I've got it!"_

" _AP in!"_

"Fire!" Collier shouted just before the barrel of the heavy machine struck him in the back of the head. "What the?"

Turning, Collier found the young lieutenant spilled over his turret. Crimson red life fluid pouring on and pooling the olive drab painted metal between the two hatches.

"Lieutenant!" Collier grabbed the man and found he hadn't made it. A piece of shrapnel had torn through his back, severing his spinal cord.

He would never know if it was an instant kill or if the lieutenant had lived through his fall onto the turret.

The 76mm gun recoiled again as flames were spat out and dust once more kicked up.

"Rest in peace sir," Collier gently laid the man back down. Then he turned to some men cowering in a doorway. "I need a gunner for the Fifty!" he shouts down to them.

They all look so terrified. The glider pilot had rounded up whoever he could grab. Collider had no idea where these men came from. Nor did he have the time to find out.

But one of them stepped out, making the short dash to climb up the Sherman's side in record time and take the big machine gun mounted for AA defense. Under Collier's instruction, the man learned quickly how to handle the weapon. The other men had fallen in behind the Sherman and were ready to advance and that is exactly what the tank started to do.

 **XXXX**

Captain John H. Miller, commanding Charlie Company of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, watched as the Sherman began its advance across the bridge. Men, likely engineers, hurriedly tore the sandbag barricades apart and reposition them. The barb wire emplacements were also moved out of the way. Then the Sherman was crossing, three machine guns firing away.

"Don't that just beat all," Technical Sergeant Mike Horvath states as the Sherman crosses with a squad sheltering behind it. Following them were Half Tracks with more men sheltering.

Then a 57mm Anti-Tank Gun appears, deploying rapidly. The crew get the gun positioned and set and loaded. Then they rotate the turret just as the second Tiger makes its own appearance just past some rubble.

The first shot was right on target and tore up the tracks.

Strangely, the crew bailed out.

Then as the last man more or less falls out, a white flame erupts from the Tiger, piercing the sky. The 57mm ATG had gotten a lucky hit in. Now the Tiger was a wreck.

And with that, confidence builds.

 **XXXX**

The last Marder III takes aim up at the church bell tower. Preparing to put a round into the sniper's perch there. One shot and they would have to retreat.

Private Daniel Jackson looks through his scope to see the Marder III TD preparing to fire on his perch. He is looking eyeball to cannon barrel of a vehicle about to fire. Realizing too late that last German had been making him give away their position. He turns to warn the Eagle with him.

"Parker get-"

The whooshing sounds of mortars fill the air as the 82mm Mortar teams began to bracket the Marder III. Being an open top, casemate style Tank Destroyer, it would be very vulnerable to Mortar attack.

Somehow… that works as the shot strikes too much off target.

Both Jackson and Parker are still hit.

 **XXXX**

"I got you, you freaking bastard," an infantryman with a bazooka states and fires.

 **XXXX**

The wounded crew of the Marder III are in pain as the unhurt driver began to back them up to escape.

But then they are hit by a bazooka shot that mauls the vehicle, killing the driver and commander.

 **XXXX**

"Not bad for a guy from the motor pool, eh?" the bazooka man chuckles with one of his friends.

 **XXXX**

With all of their armor support gone, the SS Panzergrenadiers begin to try and withdraw.

But the Americans cross the river and begin to push up.

The second 57mm ATG is pushed up and positioned to cover the main approach. It fires a M303 High-Explosive Shell at a building occupied by Panzergrenadiers. The explosion rips a wall to pieces and allows the Americans to fire concentrated fire directly into the Germans inside.

The Sherman then fires and the whole building collapses.

Two of the M10 Wolverines move forward as well.

Two late arriving German Panthers and another Tiger are coming up the road.

The Sherman doesn't see them, but the M10 TDs do. Both engage the trio of tanks, bouncing their shots off the lower mantlets of the Panthers and through the much thinner upper hull armor.

Both Panthers come to a stop. The two M10s fire again even as the first 57mm Gun M1 suddenly makes its second appearance to fire a round into the left side tracks of the Tiger. The M10s fire for a third time, even as the German crews, who survived anyways, began to fall off their Panthers. This time, the Panthers erupt in flames as the Tiger fires and destroys one of the M10s in response.

The 57mm crew is blasting away at the Tiger, but their shots are bouncing. The second one joins in. Firing as best it can as well. The two guns are finding no luck.

Then the Sherman fires and strikes the driver's vision port. The shot penetrates and the surviving German crewmen begin to bail out.

But then another Panther, Tiger, and two StuG IVs begin to go around their defeated compatriots.

"Oh damn," Collier breathes as behind the defeated Tiger, yet _another_ Tiger could just be made out.

"Enemy reinforcements!" the Fifty gunner states needlessly.

 **XXXX**

Captain Miller still has Ryan close to him. But he's currently fighting with Steamboat Willy. The lousy Kraut hadn't surrendered to US forces as promised. Instead, he had returned to his unit, the 2nd SS Panzer Division!

As Miller barely holds Willy off, he could also see his man, Pvt. Stanley 'Fish' Mellish struggling to breath from where Willy's knife had nearly tore his whole throat open.

Then Technician Fifth Grade Timothy E. Upham came around the corner, still draped in .30 caliber ammunition belts.

"Lügner," is all that Upham says before pulling the trigger on his M1 Garand to the surprise of Willy.

"Ryan!" Miller immediately calls as he gets to his feet to help Fish out.

"I'm okay!" Ryan coughs a little as he pushes the dead German off him.

The field cook looks a bit shaky after bayoneting someone in his back. That was the key for Ryan to get the advantage and reach up and snapped the man's neck. Fortunately, several others also came with Upham, including a medic who begins to administer life saving treatment on Fish.

"More Panthers!" a man suddenly shouts from across the street.

Miller didn't know if the man actually meant Panthers or just plain Panzers. All he knew is that they were about to get some more gut punches.

Then an explosion rocked the building he and Ryan were getting ready to exit.

"What was that?!" one man panickly shouts.

"It's the air force!" Corporal Henderson calls out. "It's our tank busters!"

Everyone cheered as more Shermans appeared exiting smoke and dust, having crossed the bridge unnoticed in all of the fighting. It was the cavalry.

Literally.

The accompanying infantry wore the patch of the 4th Cavalry Regiment. The cavalry had managed to arrive in the nick of time. Along with the Army Air Force.

"A-36 Apaches," Ryan told Miller with a smile, "They call them tank busters."

The two turned to see a bullet scarred Sherman come to a stop before them.

"Need a hand," the sergeant in command climbed from his spot and with the help of an infantryman, the two lowered a dead body down to the Ranger and Screaming Eagle.

Ryan was shocked when he saw the man's face, "It's Lieutenant Patterson!"

"So that's his name," the sergeant up on the tank spoke up. "I've been wondering about it ever since he threw our little circus together. He almost keeled over with worry for you guys. Making us hussle to get here faster than HQ was preparing."

Ryan looked down, feeling ashamed, "I thought he ran. Turned coward and fled for his life."

The sergeant shook his head.

"He ran the whole way to find us. Nearly died when he stepped on a German with a Panzerfaust. The Kraut meant to kill my tank and crew along with infantry gathered around us. Instead," the sergeant points down at the late lieutenant, "He stepped on the guy and the Kraut misfired into the dirt in front of them," the sergeant slowly shook his head, "He survived that, only for that Marder III that had been in the middle of the road to get him."

Miller held up the right hand. There were fresh burns on it. The outline of the Fifty's air cool cover could just barely be made out. It meant the killing blow had been shrapnel exploding behind him.

"He fought to the end as a hero," the Ranger captain stated as he closed the eyes of the glider pilot.

"Captain," it was Private First Class Richard Reiben, "Sergeant Horvath has been wounded. He's being taken care of. They found Jackson and Parker. They'll live, though Parker might lose his leg," he went silent for a moment before continuing, "Half our guys were killed or wounded. But we got them. Henderson is looking after the rest."

"Jackson?" Miller inquires, feeling a weight settling in his gut.

"He might lose his sight," the PFC responds.

Upham fires a few shots as some SS men trying to slink away. They drop their weapons and surrender as they find themselves now staring at a M10 Wolverine across the river. The tank destroyer drawn by Upham's fire.

"Good shooting Upham," Miller nods approvingly to the former cartographer.

Shaking his head, the sergeant leans back on his turret as his crew pull themselves out of their tank.

"We sure earned our pay today," he sighs before chuckling a bit, "Best job I ever had."

 **XXXX**

I was shocked no one had done this. So I decided to do it.

And just in time. Memorial Day ends in a few minutes.

And I would also like to dedicate this chapter to one of my neighbors. A World War Two Veteran. I only knew him as Frank. But during the time that made him part of the Greatest Generation, he was a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division. He trained other men to jump from planes and fight the Axis. I do not know what he did thereafter.

So in his honor, having passed away just before midnight last night, I honor him with this story.


End file.
